Apparently-to: scdx@get.pp.se
From: "George Wood"
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:: MediaScan
:: SWEDEN CALLING DXERS
:: from Radio Sweden
:: Number 2273-75--June 17, 1997
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[This is Part 1. Part 2 follows]
Satellite, shortwave and other electronic media news from Radio
Sweden.
This week's bulletin was written by George Wood.
Packet Radio BID SCDX2273
Updated Web edition at: http://www.sr.se/rs/english/media/
All times UTC unless otherwise noted.
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- Note: Because of my impending vacation, editions 2274 and 2275 will
be pre-recorded radio programs, and there will be no e-mail or Web
versions of 2274 and 2275.
And it looks like I'm losing the race with time again, so the Web
edition probably won't be posted until tomorrow.
NORDIC MEDIA NEWS
RADIO SWEDEN--Starting this week, we've resumed putting texts of our
Swedish newscasts on our Web pages, and for the first time we're
posting our news in Estonian. News from Monday to Friday will be
available (this week Monday to Thursday, as Friday is the Midsummer
Eve public holiday). This is a trial, and there will probably be a
break for three weeks while I am on vacation June 30-July 20. English
may be appearing later. In the meantime, our scrolling English news
headlines continue (except for June 30-July 20).
Be sure to tune in to Radio Sweden's special Midsummer programming.
This includes a Midsummer Special on June 20, an updated repeat of our
cultural magazine Spectrum (featuring choirs for the vocally-
challenged, medieval and modern drama, and the Swedish contribution to
the international theater and dance festival in Amsterdam) on June 21,
and Sounds Nordic (including Dr. Alban, the Hultsfred Rock Festival,
and the Re:Orient Cultural Festival) on June 22.
MOTALA--Today marks a media milestone here in Sweden. The Broadcast
Museum in the southern city of Motala is is being reinaugurated, with
new exhibits about the history of radio, carrying right up into the
digital age, including high definition television and multimedia.
Sweden's first official broadcast transmitter was in Motala, and this
year marks the 70th anniversary of the first regular broadcasts. For a
number of years it was Europe's most power radio transmitter, at a
blistering 30 kilowatts. (TT)
SCI-FI--The Science Fiction Channel's Scandinavian service has
returned. Sci-Fi had been using Norway's aging TV-Sat at 1 degree
West, but the transponder broke down. Telenor, which operates the
Norwegian channels at 1 degree West, solved the problem by splitting
up the Intelsat 707 transponder used by TV1000 Cinema. Sci-Fi is now
on 11.912 GHz, while TV1000 Cinema is on 11.888. (Richard Karlsson and
"SATCO DX Chart Update")
THOR--The satellites at 1 degree West have now been joined by Thor 2,
which carries 15 transponders between 11.215 and 11.434 GHz:
11.215 H
11.228 V
11.246 H
11.260 V
11.278 H
11.293 V
11.309 H
11.325 V
11.342 H
11.357 V
11.403 H
11.421 V
11.434 H
Some of these will be used for analog channels, but most will be
providing new digital services to Scandinavia. As we've reported
before, the analog (presumeably D2-MAC) channels will include Sky News
and Documentaries and Sky Entertainment from British Sky Broadcasting.
The new "TV Finland" channel was to begin digital test transmissions
from Thor 2 on June 15th, with regular broadcasts to start on
September 1st.
Much of the capacity on Thor 2 will be used for the new digital
service from what used to be Filmnet. Now that owner Nethold has been
bought by France's Canal Plus, things are changing. As of July 1st
Filmnet will be called Canal Plus here. The Supersport channel is
disappearing June 30, and instead there will be single Pan-Nordic
channel, along with separate channels for Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and
Finland.
Aftonbladet's Frank Oestergren has been at a Canal Plus press
conference in Paris, and he tells us that the pan-Nordic channel will
be called simply Canal Plus, while the four local channels will be
called Canal Plus Gul, which means "Yellow". The digital package
launches officially on September 1st, and will probably include
Cineclassica, which will show black and white film classics, the
Disney Channel, and a nature and recreational (apparently largely
hunting) channel.
Sports programs are being placed into the local national yellow
channels. Supersports' Claes Billstam told Radio Sweden their sports
programming will return to the revamped Canal Plus on September 1.
ISPR, owned by German media mogul Leo Kirch, bought the rights to
Swedish soccer and ice hockey for the next few years, but ran into
trouble when the terrestrial channels Swedish Television and TV4
refused to pay the huge resale prices demanded. Compromises have been
struck where the non-commercial Swedish Television will be showing
some soccer, and TV4 will be showing some ice hockey, while Canal Plus
will be showing a match a week during the respective seasons. There
will also be French soccer. (Richard Karlsson, Frank Oestergren, James
Robinson, Bert Dahlstroem in "Elektronikvaerlden", TT, "Dagens
Nyheter" and "Svenska Dagbladet")
(From the weird French-Swedish name to the emphasis on hunting and
French soccer, we wonder if Canal Plus has missed that Scandinavians
are more Anglophile than Francophile. Maybe Rupert Murdoch ought to
have bought Nethold. Or maybe he'll buy Kinnevik's MTG and take on
Canal Plus.)
SIRIUS--More digital channels will be on the way later this year when
Sweden's Sirius 2 satellite is launched to the other Nordic orbital
position at 5 degrees East. The satellite, on Ariane launch V101, will
launch in October/November at the earliest, and won't be ready before
October 22. ("SATCO DX Chart Update") This is a considerable delay.
Arianespace has announced it will launch Sweden's Sirius 3 satellite
during the third quarter of 1998. Sirius 3 is being built by Hughes,
and will carry 15 Ku-band transponders for direct-to-home digital TV
broadcasts to Scandinavia. Hughes will also upgrade the Nordic
Satellite Corporation (NSAB)'s satellite-control center at Esrange,
outside Kiruna, Sweden. Sirius 3 will replace Sirius 1 at 5 degrees
East. ("Tele-satellit News" and Curt Swinehart)
DIGITAL TERRESTRIAL TV--It also looks like terrestrial digital
television will be starting here later than we've reported before.
At a recent conference, Gunnel Faerm, the woman charged by the
government with studying digital TV and making recommendations,
rejected previous media reports the start could be as early as August.
It looks more like terrestrial digital will be starting here sometime
in the new year, perhaps February or March.
There's also a difference of opinion over who will be the biggest
owner in the Gold Channel, the digital pay channel showing classics
from Swedish Television's archives. Gunnel Faerm wants Swedish
Television to run the channel, while Swedish Television wants its
telecoms partner Telia as majority owner. (We don't really understand
why this is the case. The government doesn't want Telia to get into
program distribution, but apparently doesn't mind Swedish Television
getting into pay-TV.)
In a press conference last week, Swedish Television said besides the
Gold Channel, its digital offerings will include a 24 hour news and
sports channel, a channel with reruns of programs immediately after
they've been shown on Swedish TV's main 2 channels, a cultural channel
with programming from Arte and the BBC, and a channel for regional
news and programming. (TT)
DENMARK--Here is the Radio Denmark schedule to Europe and North
America, through Ocotber 26, 1997:
UTC Area kHz Beam
10.30-10.55 Europe 9480 195
11.30-11.55 Europe 7295 180
12.30-12.55 Europe 9590 180
Eastern North America 13805 280
13.30-13.55 Europe 9590 180
E and Central North America, Greenland 13805 300
14.30-14.55 E and Central North America, Greenland 13805 300
15.30-15.55 Western North America, Greenland 11840 315
16.30-16.55 Europe 9980 180
Western North America, Greenland 13805 315
17.30-17.55 Europe 7485 180
Eastern North America 15340 280
18.30-18.55 Europe 7485 180
South Europe 5220 165
Northern Europe, Southern Scandinavia 243/1062 ND
19.30-19.55 Europe 7485 180
W. and Central North America, Greenland 15340 315
20.30-20.55 Europe 7485 180
W. and Central North America, Greenland 15340 315
23.30-23.55 Eastern North America 9530 280
00.30-00.55 E and Central North America, Greenland 7465 300
Eastern North America 9560 280
01.30-01.55 E and Central North America, Greenland 7465 300
Eastern North America 9560 280
02.30-02.55 E and Central North America, Greenland 7465 300
Eastern North America 9560 280
03.30-03.55 Western North America, Greenland 7485 315
04.30-04.55 Western North America 7485 315
05.30-05.55 Europe 7485 180
06.30-06.55 Europe 7180 165
South West Europe 9590 195
07.30-07.55 Europe 7180 165
Europe 9590 180
South W. Europe 13805 220
Address: Radio Denmark, Rosenorns Alle 22, DK-1999 Frederiksberg C.
e-mail: schedule, programme matters: rdk@dr.dk
technical, reports: rdk.ek@login.dknet.dk
WWW: http://www.dr.dk/rdk - including RealAudio
The daily live transmissions in Danish are aired at 08.30 and at 16.30
UTC. Transmissions in-between are repeats. The letterbox program,
"Tune In", is heard on the last Saturday and Sunday of the month from
16.38 UTC, the last broadcast being on Sunday at 15.38.
("BCL DX News" via Franco Probi)
Radio Denmark no longer broadcasts in English. For details of the
privately-produced "Copenhagen Calling" program, see:
http://www.wrn.org
EUROPE
AMSTERDAM--Among the topics discussed at the European Union summit in
Amsterdam has been opening up the decision-making to public scrutiny.
The EU's organs are not as open as those of its member states. When
the Council of Ministers is in a closed session in Brussels,
journalists wait a few floors below. If they're lucky, after the
meeting a friendly press secretary might come down and tell them what
happened. Maybe. Ever since this country joined the EU two years ago,
the Swedish Journalists Union has been fighting for more press access.
Last week national newspapers in all 15 member countries published an
appeal for a transparent European Union. Behind the open letter was
Arne Rooth at Sweden's largest morning newspaper, "Dagens Nyheter". In
today's edition of "MediaScan" Arne Rooth tells Radio Sweden's Azariah
Kiros why he's strongly critical of the current situation.
Besides the regular media channels, including Euronews, press feeds
from the European Commision are available on Europe by Satellite on
Eutelsat II-F2, 11.080 GHz, with sound in various languages on
different audio subcarriers.
STRASBOURG--On June 10 the European Parliament gave final approval to
new EU broadcasting legislation, which will leave Hollywood's
domination of European TV screens unchallenged (by failing to accept
France's attempt to impose quotas). The revised "Television Without
Frontiers" law, expected to cross its final hurdle when EU Cultural
Ministers meet in Luxembourg on June 30, will also guarantee European
viewers can see major sporting events when exclusive rights are
snapped up by pay television channels. (Reuters)
SATELLITE DIGITAL TV--"Elektronikvaerlden's" Bert Dahlstroem has
written an interesting article in the June, 1997 issue outlining how
to integrate a new MPEG-2 receiver with an existing analog satellite
receiver installation. The system works best with a motor-driven dish,
and one of the new Universal LNBs (which cover 10.7 to 12.75 GHz) is
necessary. The digital receiver is plugged into the analog receiver as
a decoder (into a SCART plug). On each satellite one channel is
programmed as "Digital", and is programmed to connect the LNB to the
digital receiver/decoder. The digital receiver searches each satellite
to find channels, which are chosen with the MPEG receiver remote,
while the analog receiver remains on the "digital" channel. That way
users can continue to watch both analog and digital channels.
("Elektronikvaerlden")
SPAIN--Spain's two rival satellite TV networks remain far from
agreeing on a uniform decoding device to be used in the country's
expanding digital TV market, said the government-backed Via Digital
group on June 16. Via Digital has been in talks with its rival Canal
Satelite since May when parliament ordered the two groups to settle on
a single descrambler in order to give potential competing networks
access into the market.
But the two groups, which have accused each other of trying to
monopolize the market, appear far from an agreement following two
weeks of talks, said press reports.
Canal Satelite charges that conservative Prime Minister Jose Maria
Aznar is intent on giving the upper hand to Via Digital, an alliance
between the government's Radio Television Espanola network, the state-
controlled telecommunications giant Telefonica and the Mexican media
conglomerate Grupo Televisa.
Aznar's center-right Popular Party has long complained that Canal
Satelite's owners, Grupo Prisa, publisher of the liberal daily El
Pais, gave the Socialist Party excessively favorable coverage when it
governed the country from 1983 until 1986.
Canal Satelite, which has already begun broadcasting to some 40,000
subscribers, claims the decoder issue is being used by Via Digital to
slow their growth. The Aznar government denies the allegation.
Under parliament's order, if an agreement on a single descrambler
cannot be reached, Via Digital's decoder would be chosen. Via Digital
plans to begin broadcasting in September with 35 channels featuring
films, sports, multimedia services. (AP)
GERMANY--German media giant Bertelsmann AG and Bavarian rival Leo
--- NetMgr 1.00.g4+
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* Origin: GET, Lidingo, Sweden, +46-8-7655670 (2:201/505)
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